New apartments slated for West Lane Avenue

A proposed rendering shows 4 Point Development’s mixed-use building, set to open in time for Spring Semester 2018. Credit: Courtesy of 4 Point Development

More high-rise apartments are coming to the campus area, this time in a seven-story building at the corner of Tuttle Park Place and West Lane Avenue.

“We’ve come up with this concept that we think is pretty cool,” said Jon Willette, owner of 4 Points Development, owner and developer of the project, describing the development’s aim to bring together privacy with communal living.

“Each student gets their own (private) room — it’s got their own bathroom, their own kitchenette, desk area, bed — the whole thing,” Willette said. “But then, what they’ve got is, they can come out into a common area.”

Each apartment unit, set to house four residents, will have a common space with a full kitchen, sitting area and washer and dryer. The rationale, Willette said, is that college students do not need a lot of personal space, but still like to socialize.

4 Points Development surveyed students before and during the design process, and Willette said he got positive feedback on the approach, especially on the private bathrooms.

“We’ve spent a lot of money trying to figure this out,” said Willette. “This (concept) is what the millennials want.”

Willette, who estimates the rent to be around $1,000 per bed, said he drew upon similar designs found in cities like New York and Chicago, citing the communal living aspect as appealing to young professionals.

“I hope it works here,” Willette said. “We’re very excited about it.”

The building’s seventh floor, Willette described, will have a fitness center, conference room and bar area. Floors three through seven will be all residential, containing about 100 beds. The first floor will be dedicated to commercial space, and the second floor will house offices.

Private parking will be offered to all residents, a feature that proved vital in passing the University Area Commission’s zoning requirements. Earlier this year, when the project was still in the design stage, not enough parking spaces were planned for approval, said Willette.

In order to create more space, 4 Points Development elected to use a mechanized parking system — basically an elevator that transfers cars from the ground floor to the basement — that allowed for the desired number of parking spaces required for the building.

“They were the first project to come before us with that idea,” said Susan Keeny, the zoning chair at the University Area Commission. “Once they took away the parking variance, it was hard to disapprove the project.”

Now, with demolition completed and the design plan approved, Willette said he hopes to begin construction sometime this month.

If all goes to plan, the 72-foot-tall building will be completed and available for leasing in January 2018, just in time for the Spring semester at OSU.

“We’re looking forward to being in the neighborhood,” Willette said. “We’ve really put the tenant first on this one.”